Help with Living

 

 

 ‘What does that mean for me tomorrow?’ That’s what a very pragmatic friend of mine used to ask at the end of every church service. He wanted a ‘take-away’, something that would inspire, encourage or challenge him to behave differently in his everyday life. I always remember that when I’m preaching. 

 

Not that it’s all up to me: rooted in prayer, a sermon is hopefully a way for God to speak to his people. But in the same way as the Bible is not just a list of rules we need to know, a sermon needs to be more than head knowledge. It should touch our hearts and prompt us to make a practical difference to the way we live our lives. 

 

Does the same apply to fiction?

First and foremost fiction needs to be entertaining. It needs to engage us in the story and the characters so that we feel invested in their lives. But I think a lot of us, if we write fiction, have more than the story. We have things we want to say; a deeper message that will hopefully provoke our readers to reflect on their lives and maybe make some changes.

Former Children’s Laureate Anne Fine said in her book Goggle-eyes,

‘Living your life is a long and doggy business…

Stories and books help.

Some help you with the living itself.

Some help you just to take a break.

The best do both at the same time.’

I find that really inspiring. I love the idea that fiction can help people live their lives better. It may be by planting an idea they’ve never thought about, or by coming across a character that is similar to them when they felt they were alone. 

If you ask people about their favourite work of fiction, it’s often a book that they read at the ‘right’ time. A book that touched a chord with them and their circumstances. Many of us will fondly remember books we read, or films we watched, when we were teenagers, a time of change and self-discovery when we are very open to outside influences. Getting good books, films (and dare I say, tiktok videos!) into the hands of our teenagers is so important.

But whatever our age, we can all be helped by a good story. As writers, we may never know how something we have written has touched a reader, whether it has helped them take a break, or helped them live their life. But the hope that we might have done that, the prayer that we might do that… what a privilege that is.